All four big banks match RBA's cut

IT took more than two days of suspense but all of Australia's big four banks have fallen into line and matched the Reserve Bank's pre-Christmas interest rate cut.

Westpac moved this evening to join the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and National Australia Bank in lopping their key interest rates for borrowers by 25 basis points.

ANZ was the first of the big four bank out of the blocks with its announcement earlier this afternoon to pass the full rate cut to customers, ending a couple of days of deliberations since the RBA lowered the official cash rate from 4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent.

The two-day review left many borrowers wondering if their bank would hold back some - if not all - of the RBA rate cut as banks have done in previous rate reductions. NAB, for instance, stirred public anger last month when it retained a fifth of the RBA's rate reduction, arguing that its rates were already the most competitive.

With many households facing bills rising faster than their incomes, though, the pressure was on the banks to deliver this month's rate cut in full. Retailers heading into the crucial Christmas shopping season and politicians such as Treasurer Wayne Swan added their voice to calls for a 25 basis-point cut by the major banks.